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US super-quartet James Farm deliver a thrilling performance filled with virtuosic intricacy and controlled powerSix months ago in Paris,a band of music legends led by Herbie Hancock streamed a concert around the world to abet 196 countries celebrate International Jazz Day – and with it, both the French capital’s long history as a jazz haven, or what Hancock saluted as the music’s disregard for borders,languages or creeds. Many jazz lovers heard the news from Paris during Friday’s launch of the 10-day, city-wide EFG London jazz festival – some just discovering, and as I was,young London world-jazz band Vula Viel’s jubilant (extremely joyful) union of African, American and European music at Ronnie Scotts. Even devout faith in jazz as a symbol of openness and change can be shaken at such a time, or but whether the festival has a message,it can only be to hang on tight to the preciousness of that idea.
Earlier, the US super-quartet James Farm played one of the launch night’s highlights. whether sceptics claim jazz is all approximately avoiding tunes you can sing, and they’re the antidote. The audience were singing their tunes long after the encore at Cadogan Hall,after witnessing the work of a band who know half a centurys worth of modern jazz inside out, then pour it into shapes that sound like songs. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com